


The First Edge

by IndigoRae



Series: Hint of Fear [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-03
Updated: 2014-02-21
Packaged: 2018-01-11 01:38:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1167073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoRae/pseuds/IndigoRae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Eva's bored, she starts looking for ghosts. This one might be more than she bargained for...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Dude, what are you doing back in Illinois?”

Sam and Dean are holed up in a motel, preparing for their latest job. The knock on the door comes as a surprise, and Dean’s grip tightens on his gun as Sam answers it. Neither is expecting anyone -- no one even knows they’re in town -- so who would possibly come to see them?

“Eva?” Sam glances behind her, but sees no sign of Kari. She came alone? “What are you doing here?”

“And more importantly, how did you find us?”

Eva’s eyes slide to Dean as she steps into the room. Sam closes the door and waits to hear her explanation for his brother’s question.

“I heard about the haunting at the asylum, came to check it out. And your car isn’t exactly inconspicuous.”

Dean snorts indignantly, but Sam laughs. It’s true enough, a ‘67 Chevy Impala isn’t exactly commonplace these days, and the roar of the engine makes it hard to hide. It’s no wonder Eva found them; they could’ve driven right past her, and with her average Jeep they wouldn’t have even thought twice.

“So you found out we were in town and decided to pop in for a visit?”

“Not exactly.” Eva looks back to Sam. “Kari’s following up on a tip she got about Ephraim, and she didn’t want me around for that. So I was looking for a job, stumbled across this one, and found you two.”

Ephraim. Eva’s demon. Sam had almost forgotten about that. Should he offer to help Kari? She shouldn’t be going after the thing by herself. Eva could stay with Dean while Sam-

“Well, since you’re here, it’d be rude to turn you away,” Dean interrupts Sam’s thoughts as he grins at his brother. “Why don’t you stay for awhile?”

Sam eyes his brother. What is he thinking, asking her to stay? He’s the one who wanted to get back on the road, didn’t seem to care about leaving the girls before. So why now?

But the look in his brother’s eyes is telling. The way his eyes shift from Eva to Sam... he thinks he’s helping his brother “hook up”. It’s another one of his attempts to help Sam get over Jessica. A nice try, and a few weeks ago he’d have actually considered it. But he knows now, that kiss in the bar didn’t mean anything. He isn’t interested in pursuing anything with anyone, Eva or otherwise.

The trick is getting his brother to back off.

“So, if I’m gonna be around, what say we talk shop?” Eva drops her bag by the door. “What do you guys know about the haunt so far?”

“Our main focus is gonna be the south wing.” Sam begins. “That’s where all the really nasty stuff went down. It’s where they housed the really hard cases.”

“Uh huh. And there was a revolt, real messy affair. Some of the bodies were never recovered, including the chief of staff.”

Dean shares a look with Sam. The girl’s done her homework, that’s for sure.

“We’re going back tonight.”

By nightfall the trio is as prepared as they can be. EMFs and video cameras, shotguns full of rock salt, flashlights, lighters and gasoline... there’s not much else they could need for a haunting.

“Why is it always a rundown, creepy old building?” Eva murmurs. “Why not a nice, cozy house, with working lights?”

Sam laughs a little. Dean glances at Eva. Is she really freaked out about this? If she’s really worried, then she needs to stay out. She’ll just be a liability. They’ll be worried about watching after her instead of doing their job.

“Relax, Dean,” Eva rolls her eyes. “I’m not afraid. I can do my job.”

“Never said you couldn’t.”

“Then stop looking at me like I’m in the way.”

Sam pushes open a door and it creaks loudly, cutting off whatever response Dean might’ve had. Eva would almost wonder if he’d done that on purpose.

“This place is orbing like crazy.”

“Probably multiple spirits out and about.”

“Any idea how many we’re dealing with?” Eva questions. “There’s a good chance it could be a lot.”

“A whole hell of a lot,” Sam agrees, “And if these unrecovered bodies are causing the hauntings-”

“Then we gotta find ‘em and burn ‘em. Just be careful; the only thing that makes me more nervous than a pissed off spirit is the pissed off spirit of a psycho killer.”

Eva isn’t sure when it happens, but eventually she and the boys branch off into different hallways. She’s not entirely convinced that it’s a good idea to split up, but at the same time, they’ll get more accomplished this way. And if Dean still thinks she can’t handle the job, this will be a good chance to show him she can.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, a question nags at her; why does she care if Dean thinks she can’t handle the job?

She chooses to ignore that question.

“Dean!” Sam’s voice is a little panicked. “Dean?!”

Okay, more than a little. Footsteps echo on the cold, hard floor. Shouts ring out, a shotgun is cocked. There’s no warning before the blast. The sound reverberates through Eva’s skull. Her body shakes as the silence is shattered by the cacophony, and she stumbles back to the door on unstable feet.

_Shake it off, Eva. Don’t let them see you rattled..._

Dean stops her in the doorway. He doesn’t speak, but won’t let her out into the hallway either. What’s going on? Did something happen to Sam? Is he trying to protect her from something?

“Dean, what-”

He grips her shoulder tight and pushes her back into the room. She stumbles a little, but his grip keeps her from falling.

She can’t see his face anymore; he’s hidden in shadows in the dim room. Something about him seems different now. She doesn’t recognize the man she’s staring at anymore. She knows Dean, but this...

This isn’t Dean.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m going to make it all better.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So you’re telling me that thing wasn’t trying to attack you?”

“I think it was trying to tell me something.”

Dean hardly knows what to think. Since when do ghosts not attack? That’s kinda what they do, so why should this one be any different?

“Hey,” Sam looks around. “Where’s Eva?”

Where the hell _is_ Eva? She should’ve come running when she heard the shouting, or the gunshots at least. So why didn’t she?

“Shit...”

Dean doesn’t even bother answering his brother as he rushes down the hall he’d last seen Eva in. Dammit, if something’s happened to her...

“Eva!”

Both boys call her name, but there’s no answer.

“Eva, come on, where are you? Say something!”

It’s not like he thinks she’s intentionally ignoring them. Dean knows better. He just can’t consider the possibility that there’s a reason she can’t answer them. He won’t think about that. He’s not losing anyone one this job, dammit.

They reach the end of the hall and there’s Eva, standing with her back to them as though she can’t hear them. Dean reaches her first.

“Eva! What the hell are you doing?”

She jumps as his hand lands on her shoulder, spinning on her heel and staring at him with wide eyes.

“Dean..?” She shivers. “H-he was here. Dean, he was here.”

The boys look around frantically, half-expecting something to jump out at them. Dean grips the shotgun tighter in one hand, Eva’s shoulder with the other.

“Who was here?”

“Doctor Ellicot.”

“You saw him? What did he want?”

If he appeared to Eva, why is she still breathing? Then again, the ghost that appeared to Sam didn’t try to hurt him either, so what the hell?

“I don’t know. He... he said something... s-something about ‘making it all better’. He tried to grab me, but suddenly he just disappeared. Then you showed up.”

So he’d disappeared when the boys had come looking for her? That’s too convenient for Dean’s liking.

“What if these things are connected?” Sam puts in. “The woman that appeared to me, she came at almost the same time Ellicot would’ve been going after Eva.”

“So what, you think that woman was warning us about Eva?”

“It sounds like it.”

Well that’s a comforting thought. Since when do ghosts warn you about other ghosts? This whole job doesn’t make any sense, and Dean really just wants to get it over with and get out of the creepy old asylum.

Eva’s right; the place is creepy. Still, that doesn’t stop them from doing their job.

“You’re staying with me.” Dean squeezes her shoulder again, trying to be comforting the only way he knows how. “Now come on, let’s torch these freaks and get the hell outta dodge.”

Sam and Eva are more than willing to go along with that.

Dean keeps Eva close so he can keep an eye on her. He doesn’t want her running off alone, or falling behind. Not when there’s a freak out there who’s already come after her once. And unlike Sammy’s ghost, Dean really doubts that Ellicot is one of the friendly ones.

What was it he’d said? That he’d make it “all better”? Yeah, not the type Dean wants Eva running into alone again. But that does bring up a question.

“Why didn’t you shoot him?”

“What?”

“When the doc came at you, why didn’t you shoot him?”

Eva hesitates, and it sets Dean on edge. Is she hiding something, or does she just not want to admit she screwed up?

“I thought he was you.”

Well, Dean isn’t expecting that.

“What do you mean you thought it was me?”

“I was trying to go find you and Sam when I heard the gunshots, and suddenly there you were, standing in the doorway. You blocked the exit. Or at least, I thought it was you at first.”

She shivers a little as she remembers. Sam moves up beside her, enclosing her between him and Dean. There’s no way in hell he’s going to let anything come after her again.

“He pushed me back into the room, and that’s when I realized it wasn’t you.”

Dean says nothing more, simply pulls her closer by the waist and keeps walking. Nothing in this hospital is going to touch her. Nothing’s going to get within twenty feet of her. Not if he can help it.

He isn’t really sure what to think now. If Ellicot can appear in anyone’s form, they’ll have to be even more cautious. But does the illusion only last for a few moments, or would it have been longer if they hadn’t found Eva when they did? And was that ghost really trying to warn Sam about Ellicot?

The whole situation is too confusing.

Eva wraps her arms around herself, watching Dean out of the corner of her eye. She’s told him the truth about what happened, but not quite the whole truth. Not every detail.

What she doesn’t tell him is that, for a split-second, she’d been afraid of Dean. Or of the perceived image of him, at least. When Ellicot pushed her, when she’d thought she was with Dean, she’d been terrified for that brief moment before she realized that it wasn’t him.

It’s a little unsettling, walking beside him now. She knows it wasn’t him, knows that he wouldn’t hurt her. But she can’t shake the chills that make her body tremble beneath Dean’s hand. She doesn’t know how he hasn’t noticed them yet. Maybe he just thinks it’s because of what happened, that she’s still shaken up after being approached by Ellicot.

Better to let him keep thinking that.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam and Dean are on opposite sides of an upturned bedframe. Eva stands near the middle, waiting for them to make their move. Sam makes the first move. With a quick glance at Dean, he reaches out to the corner of the frame and grips it tight. Dean follows suit, and suddenly they push it to the floor. Eva has her gun trained on the figure that jumps up from behind it.

But it’s a girl. A very-much-alive girl.

Eva lowers her gun as the girl yelps in surprise. She’s terrified, staring at them with wide eyes. Pretty soon she’ll be begging them not to hurt her if they don’t say something.

“It’s alright, we’re not gonna hurt you,” Dean catches on. “What’s your name?”

“K-Katherine,” She looks between them. “Kat.”

“Okay. I’m Dean, this is Sam and Eva.”

“What are you doing here?”

Sam doesn’t waste any time. Eva’s surprised at the question; doesn’t he know that kids hang out in supposedly haunted places all the time? Eva herself used to love a good haunted house, before she realized that some of the ghosts were real.

“My boyfriend, G-Gavin...” Kat tries. “He thought it would be fun, try and see some ghosts. We thought it was just pretend, you know? But I’ve seen things. I heard Gavin scream and-”

“Alright, it’s okay,” Dean’s all gentle again. “Come on, Sam’s gonna get you out of here, and we’re gonna find your boyfriend.”

Her fear doesn’t disappear, but Eva can see the exact moment when Kat pushes it aside, stamps it down and swallows it.

“No! I’m not leaving without Gavin. I have to find him.”

It’s amazing what one will do for someone else. They might be terrified, but when someone they care about is in danger, all that matters is saving them.

Eva glances at Dean. She knows he should understand the sentiment.

“It’s no joke around here, okay? It’s dangerous.”

“That’s why I gotta find him.”

Somehow they end up splitting up again. Kat’s with Dean, leaving Eva to tag along with Sam. They’re searching for clues to Ellicot’s whereabouts first and foremost, but now there’s Gavin to worry about.

“Why is a haunting such an appealing idea?”

“Have you never gone to a haunted house, Sam?” Eva laughs. “I used to go with Kari all the time when I was a kid. Our dad used to take us every year. My mom couldn’t stand them; she didn’t like anything scary, but Kari and I loved it.”

Sam sort of hums his acknowledgement of her words until something she said catches his attention.

“Wait, you just said our dad, but my mom? Do you not have the same mom as Kari?”

“No, actually. Kari’s mom died in a house fire when she was a baby. She and her father and brother survived, and he married my mom a year later.”

Sam tucks this information away to think about later, trying to still all the thoughts spinning in his head at the news. He wants to go over it all, but he’s got to focus on the job. He can’t afford to be distracted.

“My girlfriend was big on Halloween, parties and stuff,” He offers. “I never really got into it. I guess once I knew what sort of monsters were really out there, I didn’t see the appeal of dressing up as one.”

“Well sure, but there’s a lot more than just-”

The two fall silent as they enter a small room and find a body. Is this Gavin, or another victim?

Sam approaches first, but Eva’s close on his heals. The body’s warm.

“Gavin?”

Sam shakes him. Eva jumps back a little when the boy’s eyes suddenly open.

“It’s okay,” Sam tells him, “We’re here to help. We found your girlfriend.”

The boy instantly perks up.

“Kat? Is she alright?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. She’s worried about you. Are you alright?”

“I was running...” Gavin looks around as though trying to find what he was running from. “I think I fell.”

“Running from what?”

“There was this girl, she... her face was all messed up.”

“Okay, listen. This girl... did she try to hurt you?”

The boy stutters, hesitant to answer. Sam and Eva share a look. Did he get a ghost like Sam’s, or Dr. Ellicot? If she’d tried to hurt him, surely he wouldn’t be so hesitant to say something.

“She...” Eva leans forward to hear him better. “She kissed me.”

“But she didn’t try to hurt you?”

“Dude, she kissed me! I’m scarred for life!”

Eva rolls her eyes. Dramatic, much? Teenagers...

“Well trust me, it could’ve been worse. Do you remember anything else?”

“Actually, she tried to whisper something in my ear.”

“What?”

“I don’t know -- I ran like hell.”

_And ended up in a dark corner on the floor, helpless. Brilliant._

Before anyone can say anything more, a low rumble fills the air. It steadily rises in volume, and it’s coming from behind them.

“What is it?”

“No idea.”

Sam is the first to move, heading toward the sound. Eva follows after him, and Gavin trails along behind her. The noise gets louder until it peaks with a loud bang. Eva jumps. Gavin cries out. Sam is the calm one.

“Help me!”

“That was Kat!”

Suddenly Gavin is the one in front, leaving Sam and Eva to catch up as he races toward the sound. Whatever happened, Kat is scared, maybe in danger. There’s no way he’ll leave her to fend for herself.

Eva’s once again reminded of the power that love has over fear. It’s sweet, watching these two teenagers put aside their own safety for the sake of the other.

It’s been a long time since she’s had someone who cared like that...

 


	4. Chapter 4

”You want me to what?!”

Eva and the boys look at Sam as though he’s lost his mind. He’s actually suggesting that Kat face the ghost, let it do what it wants?

“It isn’t trying to hurt you; it’s trying to tell you something. You just have to listen to it and it’ll leave you alone!”

He isn’t sure she’ll do it. Not many people would, in her position. But she stops banging her fists on the door, stops screaming, so he guesses she must have decided to do what he said. And when the door slides open after a few moments of silence, he finds out he was right.

Sam slips past her and into the room, but there’s nothing there now.

“One thirty-seven.”

All eyes shift to Kat.

“What?”

“It whispered in my ear. One thirty-seven.”

Sam and Dean share a look.

“Room number.”

The boys step away to discuss the situation while Eva stays with Kat and Gavin. Gavin stays close to his girlfriend’s side the whole time.

“Alright, Sam’s gonna get you guys outta here,” Dean steps up beside Eva, “I’m gonna go find room one thirty-seven.”

“I’m coming with you.”

Dean gives Eva a long look, but she doesn’t leave any room for argument.

\---

They find room one thirty-seven easily enough. Dean has to force the door open, there’s so much broken furniture blocking it. When they finally get into the room, Eva shines her flashlight along the walls while Dean looks at the floor. Neither is a very pretty picture.

The floor is littered with debris; pieces of broken furniture, filing cabinets lying on their sides, papers strewn everywhere... it looks almost like someone ransacked the place, searching for something.

The walls are dark, splattered with blood. It’s very old blood, judging by the color. Nothing new has happened in this room for awhile.

Dean’s prying at something in the corner of the room. Eva glances over every so often. She needs to know he’s still there, and that he’s still Dean. She doesn’t need any more surprises today.

“Huh.” He muses after a moment. “This is why I get paid the big bucks.”

“Don’t you wish,” Eva chuckles, coming to stand behind him. “What’ve you got?”

Dean holds up a leather-bound book.

“Time for some reading.”

Eva goes back to digging through the papers on the floor as Dean drops into a chair and opens the book.

“Well, all work and no play makes Dr. Ellicot a _very_ dull boy...”

A sound at the door makes them both look up. Dean’s on his feet instantly, already heading for Eva without even knowing what’s coming. Another ghost, Dr. Ellicot himself... he has no idea what to expect. But that doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, it isn’t getting anywhere near Eva again.

\---

“Hey Gavin?”

Gavin stops pacing and looks to Kat. There’s no way out of this place, Sam’s gone to find his brother, and Kat’s the one holding a shotgun. Can this day get any worse?

He doesn’t like being in here alone. Well, he’s with Kat, but still. He thought it would be fun, just some overturned furniture and graffiti sprayed on the walls. He’d had no idea what was coming. He wasn’t prepared for this!

And to find out that there was no way out? That just added to the creepy. And just when Sam’s trying to find a way out, his brother calls him away? And he finds out it’s actually his girlfriend who can use a shotgun instead of himself?

Yeah, this just isn’t his day.

“Yeah?”

“If we make it out of here, we are _so_ breaking up.”

Gavin doesn’t have time to answer before footsteps echo down the hall.

“Someone’s coming.”

Kat holds the gun steady and aims, her finger on the trigger. She fires as someone comes around the corner.

“Dammit, don’t shoot! It’s me!”

Dean.

“Sorry!”

Dean steps around the corner again, Eva behind him. Sam’s nowhere in sight.

“What are you still doing here? Where’s Sam?”

“He went to the basement. You called him.”

Dean and Eva shared a look.

“I didn’t call anybody.”

“His phone rang. He said it was you.”

“The basement, huh?” Dean looks at Eva again before turning away. “Alright, watch yourselves... and watch out for us!”

By the time they reach the basement, Eva’s skin is prickling. There’s something down there, and they’re getting closer to it.

“Be careful,” She warns. “I don’t like this.”

“Well, you’d be nuts if you _did_ like it.” Dean quips. “But yeah, I know. Something’s definitely jacked about this place.”

Eva doesn’t answer and Dean casts a sideways glance down at her. She’s definitely still shaken up, though who in their right mind wouldn’t be? But she’ll get through it. She’s tough, she can handle this.

“So what did you find out from the journal?”

Dean looks back down the hallway as he answers.

“Apparently Dr. Feelgood was working on some extreme rage therapy. He thought that if his patients could vent their anger, they’d be cured from it.”

“Yeah, cause that always goes so well.”

“Right. Anyway, instead of helping, it made them get angrier and angrier. I guess that’s what he’s doing now too, making people so angry, turning them homicidal. We need to find this guy’s bones and burn ‘em.”

“And they’re somewhere in this basement?”

Though stated as a question, Eva knows the answer. The doctor’s bones are definitely in the basement somewhere.

“Yeah, apparently he had a secret room somewhere down here.”

“Great. That won’t be hard to find at all.”

Dean doesn’t answer. He knows she’s right, it won’t necessarily be easy to find the door to a hidden room -- that’s why it’s called a _hidden_ room -- but still, they have to find it.

Eva’s just about to speak again when something lands on her shoulder.

“Dean, what-”

She turns around and nothing’s there. Then something moves behind her. She spins on her heel, but there’s nothing. She silently berates herself for being so on edge. It’s making her sloppy.

There’s a strange shadow in that room across the hall though. And it seems to be moving...


	5. Chapter 5

Dean has no idea what possesses her to do it. To be honest, he’s not sure she’s the one making her own decisions right now. Something isn’t right, hasn’t been since Ellicot came to her. Did she tell him the truth about what happened? What if Ellicot did something to her? Maybe that explains why she’s acting so weird now.

One minute Eva’s beside him, within arm’s reach in case anything goes wrong. The next she’s disappearing around a corner into a tiny room, too far away and out of sight. He doesn’t like it.

“Eva, hold up.”

He follows her, but he isn’t sure whether he’ll let her continue with what she’s doing or just drag her back to the other room. He doesn’t know why she went in there -- maybe there’s a good reason?

As he steps into the doorway, he sees Eva in the doorway to yet another room.

“Will ya slow down?”

He crosses in the room in long strides, almost catching up. The door slams shut when he’s only two steps away. That brings her back to herself. He hears a shuffling, then her fist banging on the door.

“Dean?!”

Eva’s voice is panicked. Already he’s kicking himself for not watching over her better.

“Eva, stay where you are. It’s alright, I’ll find another way around.”

“I don’t think there _is_ another way around.”

He doesn’t want to stand there and argue. He’s about to open his mouth and toss out some flat encouragement when the lights flicker under the door.

“Eva? Eva, what’s happening?”

She doesn’t answer.

“Eva!”

“The lights are out.”

“I can tell that. Is there anything else going on?”

“Dean...”

Her whimper cuts him sharply. He has to find a way into the room, but he’s already tried forcing the door open with no luck. And he doesn’t want to leave her, not like this.

“I have to go find another door.”

“Hurry.”

“I will, I will. Just hold on, Eva. I’m coming.”

He hates how scared she sounds. Is she scared because she can’t see, or is there something else? Is something in the room?

He’s just pushed away from the door and started down the hall when her scream shatters the silence.

“Dean!”

Part of him is screaming to go back to the door, talk to her. Find out what’s going on, if she’s alright. But really, does she sound alright? And there’s nothing he can do from here. He has to find a way in, and he has to do it fast.

\---

Eva doesn’t know what happened. One minute she was in the room with Dean, the next the door slammed and the lights flickered out. She closed her eyes for a second. Something grabbed her. At least, she thinks so. She remembers the sensation of being grabbed, but it’s fuzzy. What happened to her?

She can hear Dean’s thundering footsteps. He’s coming. She knows she should go find him, find some way out of this room. She’s not the one Dean’s supposed to be rescuing. It’s supposed to be Sam.

She’s supposed to be strong, take care of herself. But she hasn’t been able to do anything for herself all day. Even when Ellicot came at her, she did nothing. It was only the boys’ arrival that sent him away, saved her.

What’s happening to her? Where did her strength go? She’s a hunter, dammit, not some scared little kid. She doesn’t need Dean to protect her. She can handle herself.

So why do her screams come out calling his name?

\---

Dean turns another corner and runs into Sam. Literally. He stumbles back, trying to regain his balance after crashing into his wall of a brother.

“Dude, there you are! Come on, we gotta go find Eva. I think Ellicot did something to her, and she’s trapped.”

Sam follows his brother silently.

“Hey, you alright?” Dean tries for conversation.

“I’m fine.”

“You know it wasn’t me who called your cell, right?”

“Yeah, I know. I think something lured me down here.”

“I think I know who; Ellicot.”

Dean explains what he found out. Sam takes it in stride, almost looking bored with the whole thing. What happened to him? Well, it doesn’t matter now. Now that he’s found Sam, all that matters is finding Eva.

But should he go look for her, or burn the bones first? If Ellicot did appear to her again, what could Dean hope to do? Sure, he could shoot the doc and make him disappear for awhile, but that isn’t a fix. Maybe he should find the doctor’s bones first, burn them before he hurts Eva.

_Hold on, Eva. Just a little while longer..._

“I looked everywhere.” Sam commands his attention again. “I didn’t find any hidden doors.”

“Well, that’s why they’re called hidden.” Dean chuckles, but the sound falls flat. He tilts his head to the side when something else catches his attention. “Do you hear that?”

A faint sound of wind whistles through the room. Dean follows the sound, putting his hand to the wall to search for the source.

“There’s a door here.”

“Dean.”

A gun cocks.

“Step away from the door.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short, I know. The next one should be the conclusion, though, and thus should be longer. Hopefully that'll make up for this one being shorter.
> 
> Also, I'm now on Tumblr! I've just posted photos of Kari and Eva, so go check them out if you're curious!
> 
> http://indigo-rae.tumblr.com (by the way, if anyone could tell me how to actually make this a link, I'd be grateful)


	6. Chapter 6

Dean mentally kicks himself again. Dammit, he should’ve known something was wrong with Sam. Ellicot must’ve gotten to him. Just like Eva.

“Sam, put the gun down.”

“Is that an order?” Blood drips from his nose.

“Nah, more like a friendly request.”

Sam raises the gun to Dean’s chest, continues as though Dean hadn’t spoken.

“Cause I’m pretty sick of following your orders.”

Yeah, he was right; Ellicot definitely did something to Sam. Given the choice between Eva’s fear and Sam’s anger, Dean’s pretty sure he’d prefer Eva’s fear. At least she wasn’t trying to kill him right now.

“What are you gonna do, Sam, shoot me? Gun’s filled with rock salt -- it’s not gonna kill me.”

Sam doesn’t even hesitate.

\---

The room is silent and dark. Eva can’t see, can’t hear anything beyond her own breathing. Her lungs burn. She feels like she’s been running for a long time, not sitting in the dark. And why is she still sitting in the dark? Hiding like some scared little girl, that’s not her. She’s not afraid of the dark.

But that knowledge isn’t enough to push her off the floor, away from the corner where she’s now huddled, knees pulled up against her chest.

A gunshot shatters the silence.

“Dean!”

It’s out of her mouth before she can think, before she even processes it. When she thinks about it, it doesn’t make sense to be worried about Dean; he’s the one with the gun, so he’s probably the one doing the shooting. But something about the whole thing makes her hair stand up on her neck, makes her heart race just a little bit faster.

The sound of splintering wood fills the air. Vaguely Eva can make out voices, Sam and Dean she assumes. They’re quiet, but getting louder. She can only hear bits and pieces of their words.

“...following Dad’s orders... without question? Are you that... approval?”

It’s Sam’s voice she hears most. He’s angry. Is he really upset about Dean obeying their dad?

“...gonna do, Sam? ...shoot me?”

Eva doesn’t wait around to hear the answer. She can’t. Before she even thinks about it, she’s on her feet, fingers grasping the walls as she searches for a way out. All the while she’s screaming at Sam.

“Sam, where are you?!” No answer, not that she expects one. “Sam, what are you doing? Stop and think about this!”

She can hear them talking, but it’s quiet again. She can’t make out the words. Suddenly Dean yells “Take it!” and they get quiet again.

Finally she rounds a corner and Dean’s voice rings clearly.

“You hate me that much? You think you could kill your own brother? Then go ahead, pull the trigger. Do it!”

Eva rounds the corner and finds the boys. Sam’s standing over Dean, pointing a gun at his head. His focus is almost scary -- even her arrival doesn’t faze him. Dean’s eyes slide over to her, and he meets her gaze for so long that he’s unprepared for when the shot comes.

He doesn’t flinch, but Eva does, even though she quickly realizes she needn’t have worried. There’s no bullet, no wound. Dean isn’t lying on the floor slowly bleeding to death.

He gave his brother a useless weapon.

“Man, I’m not gonna give you a loaded pistol!”

Eva almost laughs at the absurdity of it all. She’d thought Dean was handing over the keys to his own murder, when it was really just a trap. Still, the fact that Sam hadn’t even hesitated proves that he’s definitely been affected by Ellicot. There’s no way he could actually shoot his own brother.

The moment passes in a blur. Suddenly Sam’s on the floor, and Dean’s standing. In one quick movement, he throws his fist in his brother’s face, knocking him out.

“Sorry, Sammy.” He huffs out, before looking to Eva. “You alright?”

She only nods.

“Let’s burn this freak and get out of here, huh?”

She’s quick to agree to that plan.

\---

“Oh, that’s just gross.”

Eva looks over her shoulder to see what Dean’s found, and sees him standing over the mummified corpse of their target. Silently he digs into his bag and grabs a bottle of salt, thoroughly coating the body in it.

“Dean-”

The word barely leaves Eva’s lips before a gurney flies across the room. Eva jumps out of the way but it clips Dean, knocking him to the floor. Eva’s at his side instantly.

“Guess he knows we’re about to fry him up nice and crispy.”

She reaches out a hand to help him up, but doesn’t quite make it before something grabs her from behind.

“Eva, down!”

She drops without question, and a gunshot rings out mere moments later. Eva is released and falls to the floor. Dean grabs her arm and pulls her to her feet.

“Go watch Sam. I’ll finish here.”

“Dean, he just attacked you to keep you from finishing. I’m not leaving.”

She takes his gun and puts her back to the wall, watching the room. Dean can finish up; she’ll watch his back.

Everything in him tells him to get her out, get her away from the danger. But she wouldn’t listen anyway, and he doesn’t have time to argue. And really, at least he knows Eva won’t try to kill him.

The bottle of kerosene is in his hands before he realizes something’s wrong. Eva’s still behind him, but she’s a little too quiet.

“When we get outta here, what say we grab some burgers?”

He expects the answer he gets; silence. He looks back. Eva’s still standing guard, gun ready and eyes everywhere. But there’s something about her stance that isn’t right. She’s too stiff, almost like a statue. And is she breathing?

“Yeah, I could go for a burger and some beer.” He continues, fighting to keep his voice calm. No tipping off the ghost. “Sammy said you drink whiskey, so I say we hit up a bar tonight. Call it a celebration for a job well done.”

He’s reaching for his lighter when a hand lands on his shoulder. He tries to shake it off, but it just grabs him tighter, spinning him around and throwing him to the floor. Before he can get up, Doctor Ellicot leans over him, one hand reaching toward his face.

“Don’t be afraid; I’m going to help you. I’m going to make you all better.”

Make it all better. Now where had he heard that before..?

“Is that what you said to Eva and my brother, you freak? Well sorry, but I don’t need your kind of better. I’m good.”

Dean grasps the lighter in his left hand, flicks it, and tosses it toward the cabinet. The tiny flame licks at the salt and kerosene, raging to life to consume the corpse. The doctor scrambles off of Dean as his feet begin to burn. The flames continue up his legs, and Dean watches in silence until the ghost is nothing more than a pile of dust on the floor. Then he looks for Eva.

Instead of standing where he’d last seen her, she’s collapsed to the floor. He kneels and reaches a hand out, touching her shoulder. Her eyes snap open and he almost sits back in surprise.

“..Dean..?”

“Hey. Ellicot’s dust.” He stands and holds a hand out. “You good?”

Eva hesitates for only a moment before taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet.

“I’m good.”

\---

Sam blinks once, twice. Dean nudges him again.

“You’re not gonna try to kill me, are ya?”

Sam pushes his brother’s foot away.

“No.”

“Good, cause that’d be awkward.”

\---

“Thanks, guys. If you hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”

Eva follows Kat and Gavin back to their car. Sam and Dean are headed toward the Impala, and she knows they’re gonna have a lot to talk about. She doesn’t want to interrupt.

“Just stay away from haunted houses, okay? At least the potentially real ones.”

“Fake-Halloween-crap only from now on,” Kat laughs shakily. “Trust me, I’m not in the mood to go through something like this again.”

Gavin is pretty quiet, offering only a nod as he climbs into the car. Kat thanks Eva again, looks back to Sam and Dean with a grateful smile before following her boyfriend.

Eva’s back to her Jeep before Dean calls out.

“Hey, why don’t you come back to the motel with us? We could all use some sleep.”

Eva pretends to think it over, though Dean knows she’s in. She has to be as exhausted as he is, and even though he knows she’ll want to check in with Kari, she shouldn’t drive too far without resting.

“Sure,” She finally offers, “But how about we go out for burgers and beers later?”

Dean grins.

“You got it.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter one of book 3, "Lights All Faded" is up now!


End file.
